Gita for Youth - Yoga of Meditation (Dhyana Yoga) - Controlling of Mind

Controlling of Mind

If the fickle mind wants to run (after worldly affairs and objects of senses) one should, with great patience bring it back to the contemplation of Self.

Such a Yogi of tranquil and serene mind attains utmost joy and bliss of the knowledge of Brahman and thus gets purged of all impurities.

Bereft of all impurities and engaged in Yoga, such one attains infinite bliss through contact with the Infinite Brahman.

The Yogi thus being perfected, beholds the Self in all beings and all beings in the Self or the Supreme Being. Beholding thus, he treats everybody and everything equally, without distinction.

A great unity pervades everybody and everything. We only perceive myriads of forms through an illusion. Underlying the diversities in nature the great unity prevails. All bodies are part of a universal body and all minds are part of a universal mind. One consciousness pervades the entire Universe. That is the principle behind Advaita Vedanta. Thus all self are in reality part of the universal Self or Brahman. Knowing thus, a Yogi does not differentiate or distinguish.

Lord Krishna then proclaimed that one who sees Him, the Self in all beings and all beings in the Self or Him, He, the Supreme Lord of the Universe is never lost to him, nor that devotee, the Yogi is ever lost to Him. One who sees the Lord everywhere and in every being is dearer to the Lord because he is always in the vicinity and proximity of the Lord. Such a person can never lose sight of the Lord. The Lord also, as the Self, is always with the devotee, under all circumstances.

One who thus worships Him as the One despite being of myriads of forms in different creatures of the world, and being present everywhere in the world (and not merely in holy places or in heaven), such a Yogi comes unto the Lord, irrespective of whatever situation he is in.

Sri Krishna further said, “Arjuna, if somebody sees every self as his own self by realizing himself to be the part of a universal Self or Atman, under all kinds of circumstances, be it in prosperity or in adversity, such a Yogi is great according to Me.”

Arjuna then asked, “The Yoga about which you’ve spoken thus, of equality, is something which I am unable to comprehend owing to the restlessness of my mind. Mind is by nature fickle and controlling this restless mind, according to me, is as difficult as repressing the mighty wind.”

This is a natural question that comes to everybody. The Yoga of meditation is difficult because of our inability to concentrate for a long period. Mind is always restless; it is after one sense object or the other. Thoughts are always springing from nowhere. The years of accumulated impressions or Sanskaras are their sources. Mind is like an endless ocean where thoughts are like waves breaking upon the shore of consciousness. Sometimes the waves are relatively quiet, at other times (during troubled times in life) they are turbulent. To convert this turbulent ocean into a placid lake without any disturbance is a feat almost inconceivable to an ordinary soul.

Sri Krishna however is prepared for this question. He says, “Oh Kaunteya, Undoubtedly mind is difficult to control, but it is possible through years or practice and through detachment (to worldly affairs).”

Sri Krishna knows that controlling mind is difficult, but He does not think it to be impossible. Being master of Yoga or Yogeswara he knows how one can go about controlling a mad elephant like mind. It requires lot of effort, a lot of practice, called Sadhana. This is a form of Yoga called Abhyasa Yoga. However, mere practice will not do, one has to cultivate detachment or dispassion towards worldly affairs if one wants to get a glimpse of the unworldly. Developing dispassion is the most difficult part of Sadhana or the effort because one will have to be totally indifferent to any worldly affair including that of his own and his family’s, so that no worldly thought can trouble his mind. Dhyana or meditation is a continuous stream of thought on one subject or related subjects. Such stream should never be broken by other thoughts. Just as oil flows out continuously from the bottle, so also the one thought should permeate the consciousness of the Yogi. 

Lord Krishna further said that according to Him, one who is unable to control the mind, of fickle and restless nature, or one who is too much into the worldly affairs, cannot attain the state of Yoga. Only one who has been able to subdue mind and senses, is able to achieve such a state of calmness.